It’s an honor and a privilege to discuss Ezra. Not really uniquely as a blind film critic, or LGBTQ film critic, but just because this film resonated with me on such a profound level. It’s just being tossed away as some random summer film that won’t get any attention from critics, and I think I probably am over indexing here on the sliding scale of critic, but with some 130+ and counting films from 2024, Ezra is very much one of my favorite. I think it is one of the best of the year, and the only question with that coming out of early in the year releases is will the flood of Oscar and festival darlings knock it down at all, and by how much? Totally possible. Last year, I had some great prospects early on, and Are You There God It’s Me Margaret stood on top of my 2023 list for a long time. then, I was hit with the triple threat of The Holdovers, All of Us Strangers, and American Fiction. Could Ezra slip a little? Sure. I still think it is a top 10 film for me this year.
Part of it has to do with Bobby Cannavale, who delivers what must be his career best performance in a role seemingly written for him. He’s a deeply flawed individual, a former writer who after life takes a different turn is having to take his material to the stage himself. He’s a divorced man, still needing to keep a peaceful relationship with his ex (Rose Byrne), despite clearly hating her new choice of boyfriend (Tony Goldwyn, who also directs), because they share parental responsibilities over their son Ezra (newcomer William Acosta) who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has very unique needs, and sometimes he needs the careful and understanding guidance of his parents, though they often disagree on the specifics.
After an incident at Ezra’s school, the school recommends he go to a special school designed for children “like him”. This is where the big division lies, as Cannavale sees his son as a warrior, and Byrne sees her son as requiring special needs. this is explored a bit more in depth, this father/son dynamic as we see that Cannavale’s character is living at home with his own father (Robert DeNiro), and they have a complicated history. but, everyone loves Ezra, and really wants the best for him.
The film changes gears when Ezra overhears something his mom’s boyfriend is saying about wanting to beat up his dad, so he runs out into the street where he’s hit by a car. He’s unable to fullly communicate at first what his reasoning was, so he’s branded suicidal, which his dad thinks is a joke, so he physically assaults the doctor who is prescribing a medication that he has pasted all over his office. this causes a temporary loss of custody and he has to operate under a court order. One of the things he has to give up in order to stay out of jail, is to allow Ezra to take the brain numbing medication he doesn’t need.
This further pulls a struggling Cannavale even further, and the desperation is so real. he’s struggling at comedy, he’s a grown man living with his dad, he’s a failed husband, and now a court is telling him what kind of contact he can have with his own son. to make it worse, he knows in his soul that Ezra isn’t suicidal, and doesn’t need the medication. Basically, we need all of this to happen, because we have to root for a kidnapping. Eventually, he takes Ezra out on a road trip, figuring he can reach Ezra through one-on-one time he’s been denied, and figure out why his warrior child is struggling.
Not gonna lie, i didn’t mind the kidnapping. He doesn’t do anything bad with Ezra, it’s just how the world sees him. There’s one moment that’s a huge climax for cannavale’s character that really gives him more perspective, but Cannavale is so good he feels like an actor doing a role that if he’s not 100% believable in this role, people will die. he feels like he’s literally giving every last ounce of what he has to give as an actor to this complex role, and to see a dad who is so deeply flawed, who can’t fix his own life, but is so invested in trying to show up for his son based on a childhood that was less than perfect, I don’t know how this isn’t resonating. I don’t know what about the lead performance here is missing the mark.
In a weird way, what Cannavale is committing to emotionally in every frame of this film his such energy behind it that I was reminded of how Leonardo DiCaprio Revenanted his way to his first Oscar. That man was bound and determined to get through that come hell or high water, and in many respects, Cannavale is as well. he doesn’t have to fight a bear to do it, but he does play an emotionally layered and almost labyrinth Ian complex father who you truly believe would crawl into the middle of the road and die for his son if the movie required it.
The film already has a pretty solid cast. Even Whoopi Goldberg pops up for a hot second. And, they did choose an actual young actor with ASD to portray Ezra, and he does a really fine job on his first outing. But, at the end of the year, it is this performance I will remember. I didn’t log audio description info for this after watching it, but I don’t remember having any problems. I’m just so captivated by a single performance here, I’d recommend this to anyone, anytime, any day. I wish I had bought the damn thing outright so I could watch it again. I’ve heard buzz about all these other performances this year, but i was moved in such a way by Cannavale, that I can’t even imagine what would come next to take him off my best Actor pick for the year.
Easily one of my favorites of 2024.
Final Grade: A